First Build, Need Help!

[bradch]

I am doing a build for a 2000 Chevrolet Silverado Ext. Cab. I have saved up around a grand, and I am ready to begin my build. I am going to install one Sundown SA12, down-firing, under the rear seat. Below I will attach a picture with the space I have to work with. I have a few questions that would really help if I could get answered. I understand that the attached box plan is not for my set up. I am going to do something similar, without the second sub chamber.

1. What amp would you recommend to use, at what ohms?

2. Should I do a 'big 3 upgrade'?

3. What should the depth of my box be to accommodate my 6.5" sub mounting depth?

4. How do I build a port in my box, and how does a port operate?

5. What tips do you have for my box?

6. What tips do you have for my overall setup, as this will be my first build.

Other..

Head Unit - Pioneer DEH X5500HD Car CD Player DEHX5500HD Built in HD Radio DEHX5500HDB 884938177733 | eBay

Sub - SA Series

Similar Builds -

http://www.caraudio.com/forums/car-audio-build-logs-cars-trucks-suvs/515849-1999-silverado-alpine-build.html

Phoenix Gold Phorum • View topic - My 2000 Sierra "No Limits" install updated

Thanks guys! I appreciate any help.

Click to read more...

 

[bradch]

i'd truly love to get some help..

 

[Pearson 10+ year member]

I am doing a build for a 2000 Chevrolet Silverado Ext. Cab. I have saved up around a grand, and I am ready to begin my build. I am going to install one Sundown SA12, down-firing, under the rear seat. Below I will attach a picture with the space I have to work with. I have a few questions that would really help if I could get answered. I understand that the attached box plan is not for my set up. I am going to do something similar, without the second sub chamber.
1. What amp would you recommend to use, at what ohms?

2. Should I do a 'big 3 upgrade'?

3. What should the depth of my box be to accommodate my 6.5" sub mounting depth?

4. How do I build a port in my box, and how does a port operate?

5. What tips do you have for my box?

6. What tips do you have for my overall setup, as this will be my first build.

Other..

Head Unit - Pioneer DEH X5500HD Car CD Player DEHX5500HD Built in HD Radio DEHX5500HDB 884938177733 | eBay

Sub - SA Series

Similar Builds -

http://www.caraudio.com/forums/car-audio-build-logs-cars-trucks-suvs/515849-1999-silverado-alpine-build.html

Phoenix Gold Phorum • View topic - My 2000 Sierra "No Limits" install updated

Thanks guys! I appreciate any help.

1. The sub is 600w RMS so an amp around there or a little higher. impedance (ohm) will depend on the sub. The sub will be a D2 or D4.

2. I always suggest the Big 3.

3. That will depend on the dimensions you have to work with.

4. Do some more searching on ported boxes. Google is a magical place and if you have any questions that aren't answered by a search, people will be more than willing to answer.

5. Are you building the box or having it built? If building the box, do plenty of research.

6. Research, research, and research some more.

The box you attached to your thread is not a down firing box. It is roughly the same box I have in my Titan. You didn't provide any measurements of the room you have to work with unless the box you attached is the measurements. If it is, why aren't you looking to build a box similar to that one? I can try to help and answer any questions you have but you're going to have to be more specific. You are asking blanket questions and most can be answered by a quick search.

 

[bradch]

1. The sub is 600w RMS so an amp around there or a little higher. impedance (ohm) will depend on the sub. The sub will be a D2 or D4.2. I always suggest the Big 3.

3. That will depend on the dimensions you have to work with.

4. Do some more searching on ported boxes. Google is a magical place and if you have any questions that aren't answered by a search, people will be more than willing to answer.

5. Are you building the box or having it built? If building the box, do plenty of research.

6. Research, research, and research some more.

The box you attached to your thread is not a down firing box. It is roughly the same box I have in my Titan. You didn't provide any measurements of the room you have to work with unless the box you attached is the measurements. If it is, why aren't you looking to build a box similar to that one? I can try to help and answer any questions you have but you're going to have to be more specific. You are asking blanket questions and most can be answered by a quick search.

I understand that the box I attached is not a down firing box. The box was just attached for measurements. I am looking to build a box similar to that one. The only difference is that it would not have a second sub chamber. Hopefully you can picture what I am talking about. I am going to try my best to eliminate blanket questions, as I understand they are frustrating.

Rephrasing question 3, what is the minimum depth my box can be to accommodate the 6.5" mounting depth of the Sundown SA12? I have the understanding that my sub's magnet will move during operation, and if that is the case, I just want to have enough space so that the magnet will not hit the box during operation. I could be wrong about this understanding, and in that case, the answer to my question would be 6.5", I believe.

I have done research on ported boxes, and I was just wondering if I should have any specific port dimensions for my box's air space.

I am building the box, and a person I am working with has a lot of past experience with fabrication, just not relating to car audio.

Also, another question I did not include. What would be a good speaker upgrade for this truck? Here is information of what I have to work with.

1999-2002 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Extended Cab Car Audio Profile

Thank you very much for your help.

 

[Pearson 10+ year member]

I understand that the box I attached is not a down firing box. The box was just attached for measurements. I am looking to build a box similar to that one. The only difference is that it would not have a second sub chamber. Hopefully you can picture what I am talking about. I am going to try my best to eliminate blanket questions, as I understand they are frustrating.
Rephrasing question 3, what is the minimum depth my box can be to accommodate the 6.5" mounting depth of the Sundown SA12? I have the understanding that my sub's magnet will move during operation, and if that is the case, I just want to have enough space so that the magnet will not hit the box during operation. I could be wrong about this understanding, and in that case, the answer to my question would be 6.5", I believe.

I have done research on ported boxes, and I was just wondering if I should have any specific port dimensions for my box's air space.

I am building the box, and a person I am working with has a lot of past experience with fabrication, just not relating to car audio.

Also, another question I did not include. What would be a good speaker upgrade for this truck? Here is information of what I have to work with.

1999-2002 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Extended Cab Car Audio Profile

Thank you very much for your help.

After thinking about it some more, I don't think you're going to be able to down fire that sa-12. In order to down fire, you need space under the sub for when the bass hits so think at least 1 in for that. You put the sub in the box measurements above and it's sitting directly on the floor and will mess the sub up quickly.

From the dimensions of the box posted above (rough estimate) you're looking at total volume of .87 cuft. That's not gonna cut it for the sa-12 either. Here is a calculator to help you determine airspace and port length: Subwoofer Enclosure Calculators, Fraction to Decimal, Parallel, Series, Port Length and Volume Calculators

Plain and simple, you are not going to be able to run the sa-12 you're wanting in a ported down firing box. There's no room. If you look into forward firing the subs, sa-10's will work but it'll raise the seat a couple of inches. I'm doing it in my Titan and it's not really that noticeable. If you want to keep the dimensions of the box w/out changing measurements, sa-8's would be great.

 

[bradch]

After thinking about it some more, I don't think you're going to be able to down fire that sa-12. In order to down fire, you need space under the sub for when the bass hits so think at least 1 in for that. You put the sub in the box measurements above and it's sitting directly on the floor and will mess the sub up quickly.
From the dimensions of the box posted above (rough estimate) you're looking at total volume of .87 cuft. That's not gonna cut it for the sa-12 either. Here is a calculator to help you determine airspace and port length: Subwoofer Enclosure Calculators, Fraction to Decimal, Parallel, Series, Port Length and Volume Calculators

Plain and simple, you are not going to be able to run the sa-12 you're wanting in a ported down firing box. There's no room. If you look into forward firing the subs, sa-10's will work but it'll raise the seat a couple of inches. I'm doing it in my Titan and it's not really that noticeable. If you want to keep the dimensions of the box w/out changing measurements, sa-8's would be great.

I apologize for neglecting to mention another difference. The box I plan to build will have a lip on the bottom, raising the face about 1" off of the floor, like you said. In order to accommodate for the needed space to do that, I was considering seat spacers up to two and a half inches. This would allow me to have that lip, and add some more volume to the box, while still keeping my seat level.

Doing the math, in inches / 1728, and using 5/8" MDF, I got 1.8 cu ft. This is for the box without the second chamber, raised 1" to the internal height and 1" for the lip, for a total of 2". I attached a very crude picture of the front face of the box I am designing, so that you have a better understanding of what exactly I am trying to accomplish.

I understand that the cone needs room to move, which is why I am using the 1" lip. My main question is if I need any more space than 7" inside of the box for my sub (6.5" mounting depth) to operate. This is a question I have had for a while and has remained unanswered as I am unfamiliar with the details of a sub during operation.

 

[Pearson 10+ year member]

I apologize for neglecting to mention another difference. The box I plan to build will have a lip on the bottom, raising the face about 1" off of the floor, like you said. In order to accommodate for the needed space to do that, I was considering seat spacers up to two and a half inches. This would allow me to have that lip, and add some more volume to the box, while still keeping my seat level.
Doing the math, in inches / 1728, and using 5/8" MDF, I got 1.8 cu ft. This is for the box without the second chamber, raised 1" to the internal height and 1" for the lip, for a total of 2". I attached a very crude picture of the front face of the box I am designing, so that you have a better understanding of what exactly I am trying to accomplish.

I understand that the cone needs room to move, which is why I am using the 1" lip. My main question is if I need any more space than 7" inside of the box for my sub (6.5" mounting depth) to operate. This is a question I have had for a while and has remained unanswered as I am unfamiliar with the details of a sub during operation.

7" will be fine for the sub. I had a dd 1008 that had a mounting depth of 4.5" and my box was a wedge that only allowed for 5" mounting depth and it was fine. I ran it for almost a year and never had issues.

 

[bradch]

7" will be fine for the sub. I had a dd 1008 that had a mounting depth of 4.5" and my box was a wedge that only allowed for 5" mounting depth and it was fine. I ran it for almost a year and never had issues.

Alright, awesome. Now I have the dimensions for a box and my sub picked out. Next, what amp would you suggest me to run for a solid 1000 watts? I've seen these subs ran at 1200+ watts with no problems, so I think 1000 should be perfect for my needs. Also, what would you suggest for a speaker upgrade with the audio profile I listed a couple replies back? Thanks!

 

[Pearson 10+ year member]

Alright, awesome. Now I have the dimensions for a box and my sub picked out. Next, what amp would you suggest me to run for a solid 1000 watts? I've seen these subs ran at 1200+ watts with no problems, so I think 1000 should be perfect for my needs. Also, what would you suggest for a speaker upgrade with the audio profile I listed a couple replies back? Thanks!

Hit up the classifieds on here for a good amp. You can't go wrong with sundown, dc, or dd. There are many good brands and it really depends on what you want. If you want a little overhead, most people do so they can upgrade at a later point, you may want to look at amps a little more powerful and keep the gain turned down. People are going to want to know your electrical and budget.

Speaker upgrades: Your fronts are 6.5" and rears are 4x6". Are you wanting to upgrade the front and run an amp to them? Upgrade all 4 speakers and amp them? upgrade your speakers and run them off your HU? I don't have any good suggestions because I haven't heard too many but people are going to want to know the answer to my above questions, mounting depth, and a budget.

 

[bradch]

I would like to run something basic for under $250 off of my head unit